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SMD marking

J5in SOT-23

Marking codes are not standardised, and the same code is reused by unrelated makers for unrelated parts. Below is every part in our tables printed with it, and any printed with a code that is easy to misread as it, from the manufacturers' own marking tables.

Not sure which one you have?

Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 4 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.

all SOT-23, 3 pins. What differs:

  • MMBZ5250ASOT-23Zener diode, Panjit
    What it is
    Zener diode
    Maker
    Panjit
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range for the forward check, part lifted, red probe on the anode. A bench supply for the Zener voltage.

    Working, it reads

    About 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse on the diode range. Its Zener voltage shows only on a supply: feed it through a resistor that sets about 5 mA, cathode to positive, read quickly, and it should hold near its rated voltage.

    Dead, it reads

    • The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
    • Open both ways, forward too: failed open.
    • Holds well off its rated voltage on the supply test: drifted.
    • A soft knee, or a voltage that creeps on the supply test: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A meter's diode range stops at about 2 to 3 V, so almost every Zener reads open in reverse on it, good or bad; a 3 V meter may just show a 2.4 or 2.7 V part. Above about 3 V the meter cannot tell a Zener from a plain diode.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

  • MMBZ5250BSOT-23Zener diode, Panjit
    What it is
    Zener diode
    Maker
    Panjit
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range for the forward check, part lifted, red probe on the anode. A bench supply for the Zener voltage.

    Working, it reads

    About 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse on the diode range. Its Zener voltage shows only on a supply: feed it through a resistor that sets about 5 mA, cathode to positive, read quickly, and it should hold near its rated voltage.

    Dead, it reads

    • The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
    • Open both ways, forward too: failed open.
    • Holds well off its rated voltage on the supply test: drifted.
    • A soft knee, or a voltage that creeps on the supply test: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A meter's diode range stops at about 2 to 3 V, so almost every Zener reads open in reverse on it, good or bad; a 3 V meter may just show a 2.4 or 2.7 V part. Above about 3 V the meter cannot tell a Zener from a plain diode.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

  • MMBZ5250B-AUSOT-23Zener diode, Panjit
    What it is
    Zener diode
    Maker
    Panjit
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range for the forward check, part lifted, red probe on the anode. A bench supply for the Zener voltage.

    Working, it reads

    About 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse on the diode range. Its Zener voltage shows only on a supply: feed it through a resistor that sets about 5 mA, cathode to positive, read quickly, and it should hold near its rated voltage.

    Dead, it reads

    • The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
    • Open both ways, forward too: failed open.
    • Holds well off its rated voltage on the supply test: drifted.
    • A soft knee, or a voltage that creeps on the supply test: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A meter's diode range stops at about 2 to 3 V, so almost every Zener reads open in reverse on it, good or bad; a 3 V meter may just show a 2.4 or 2.7 V part. Above about 3 V the meter cannot tell a Zener from a plain diode.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

  • TS5204CX50SOT-23LDO regulator, Taiwan Semiconductor
    What it is
    LDO regulator
    Maker
    Taiwan Semiconductor
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground. Then ohms with the power off.

    Working, it reads

    Input pin at the supply, output pin at its rated voltage, and the enable pin high if it has one.

    Dead, it reads

    • Output equal to the input: the pass element has shorted. Everything after it may have taken the full input.
    • Input present, enable high, no output: failed open, or holding itself off into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
    • Power off, input to output near 0 Ω: shorted.
    On the board:
    An output at 0 V is often a shorted load with the regulator in current limit. Lift the output pin: if the short stays on the board, the regulator may be fine.
    Compare:
    The same regulator on another rail or another board shows the right voltages and the right resistances.
    Watch for:
    Makers put input, output and ground on different pins in the same package, so take them from this part's datasheet. Diode or ohms readings between its pins say little; check it powered.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

3 more parts are printed with a code easy to misread as J5

Printed with a code easy to misread

One character differs, and it is one that is easy to confuse under a lamp. The odd one out is marked on each.

all SOT-23, 3 pins. What differs:

  • BAS21printed JSSOT-23Switching diode, Infineon

    Printed JS on the part. Easy to misread as J5. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Switching diode
    Maker
    Infineon
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Details
    Surface-mount fast switching diode (BAS19/BAS20/BAS21 high-voltage family)
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range, part lifted or one leg off the pad. Red probe on the anode.

    Working, it reads

    About 0.5 to 0.8 V anode to cathode, and open the other way. Small switching diodes read about 0.6 to 0.7 V; large rectifiers can read a little lower.

    Dead, it reads

    • The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
    • Open both ways: failed open.
    • A reading the wrong way round as well: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A three-pin body can hold two diodes. With a common pin they read two junctions from that pin, just like a transistor; in series they read two drops end to end. Test each pair the datasheet names.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

  • BAS21Hprinted JSSOT-23Switching diode, Taiwan Semiconductor

    Printed JS on the part. Easy to misread as J5. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Switching diode
    Maker
    Taiwan Semiconductor
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range, part lifted or one leg off the pad. Red probe on the anode.

    Working, it reads

    About 0.5 to 0.8 V anode to cathode, and open the other way. Small switching diodes read about 0.6 to 0.7 V; large rectifiers can read a little lower.

    Dead, it reads

    • The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
    • Open both ways: failed open.
    • A reading the wrong way round as well: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A three-pin body can hold two diodes. With a common pin they read two junctions from that pin, just like a transistor; in series they read two drops end to end. Test each pair the datasheet names.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

  • TS5204CX33printed JSSOT-23LDO regulator, Taiwan Semiconductor

    Printed JS on the part. Easy to misread as J5. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    LDO regulator
    Maker
    Taiwan Semiconductor
    Package
    SOT-23
    Pins
    3
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground. Then ohms with the power off.

    Working, it reads

    Input pin at the supply, output pin at its rated voltage, and the enable pin high if it has one.

    Dead, it reads

    • Output equal to the input: the pass element has shorted. Everything after it may have taken the full input.
    • Input present, enable high, no output: failed open, or holding itself off into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
    • Power off, input to output near 0 Ω: shorted.
    On the board:
    An output at 0 V is often a shorted load with the regulator in current limit. Lift the output pin: if the short stays on the board, the regulator may be fine.
    Compare:
    The same regulator on another rail or another board shows the right voltages and the right resistances.
    Watch for:
    Makers put input, output and ground on different pins in the same package, so take them from this part's datasheet. Diode or ohms readings between its pins say little; check it powered.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

Open this in the search to correct a character or try another package.